The Woman in White

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Ian Holm

Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

Late one moonlit night, Walter Hartright encounters a solitary and terrified woman dressed all in white. He saves her from capture by her pursuers and determines to solve the mystery of her distress and terror.

Inspired by an actual criminal case, this gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness and mistaken identity has never been out of print since its publication and brought Collins great fame and success. Considered to be among the first mystery novels and the first and finest in the genre of 'sensation novels', The Woman in White is noted for its suspenseful plot and unique characterisation.

Collins's use of multiple narrators drew on his legal training and he states 'the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness'.

In 2003, Robert McCrum writing for The Observer ranked The Woman in White number 23 in the top 100 greatest novels of all time. The novel was also listed at number 77 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

Charles Dickens was a close friend and mentor of Collins, and the two collaborated together on drama and fiction. The Woman in White, as well as some of his other work, was first published in Dickens' journals.

Narrator Biography

Sir Ian Holm, is a star of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who has played more than 100 roles in films and on television, whilst receiving a stream of awards and nominations. His television debut came as Richard III on the BBC's filmed theatrical production The Wars of the Roses (1965). One of his best-known roles is Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981). He has also starred in The Fifth Element (1997), From Hell (2001), The Aviator (2004) and as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. He has provided voice-overs for many television documentaries including 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth (2009), starred in the BBC's The Lord of the Rings radio dramatisations and narrated many audiobooks. In 1989 he was appointed CBE and in 1998 was knighted for his services to drama.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A twisting, turning thriller

Loved this one. The narrator (male) was fantastic offering narratives of multiple men and also women. Even when speaking as a woman, using his own voice, I really felt I was listening t pop the story from the perspective of a woman. So fun!

Completely immersed in this one.

Wonderfully performed, captivating and intriguing plot. Goes to show a book can be expertly written without using expletives or salacious content. Glad to have given my time and mind to this work.

Absolutely Amazing

This was surprisingly incredible. I was not expecting to be so thoroughly enthralled by this story. I could not stop listening. The writing is so well done. The way characters are described brings to mind such vivid imagery. The performance is superb. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys classical literature, mystery, and well rounded plots. I was highly satisfied with the outcome of this tale.

Fantastic story…..Finally!

Absolute pleasure to listen to. Finally a story which was not predictable from the first chapter!

Epic story with a magnificent reader

This classic, well written story has intrigue, romance, mystery, suspense, so many charming turns of phrase and brilliant descriptions. The treatment by the reader makes it even better!

Great Classic

Took a bit to get into, but it was worth it. I loved it. Highly recommend

twists and turns

this is a long read. it begins as a romance, but evolves into a mystery with dark overtones. I would love to see this in a screenplay, which might be easily be adapted by one of the last narratives, they can title it Fosco.

A thriller you will not be able to put down!

I read this book on an assignment I voluntarily accepted, and am I glad I did! This is an original thriller, written in journal/diary form from the various perspectives of involved characters. Like Dracula, we get a sense of each character from their writing style and narrative. This book is clever, compelling and wonderfully written. Though it was written in a time when women wielded limited power, this book explores the resources of a particularly resilient woman and how she prevails against nefariously devious men. The twists in this book are somewhat guessable but I would not say predictable. The ending is satisfying. The opening is thrilling. And reading this was pure pleasure. I highly, highly recommend this book.

It's a marathon, not a sprint

Interesting because it's the first "mystery" book of it's kind, but the language of the day makes it a long haul to tell this story. The excellent performance makes it manageable.

Wonderful. !!

Although a bit long winded...the srory with all the tellings of its characters is much to be savored